Law and legal issues

California Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Monday that requires city officials to disclose their compensation for attending simultaneous or back-to-back meetings. The new law forces a clerk or member of the local legislative body to verbally announce the amount paid to the members.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Jefferson County, Ala., on Tuesday hired a national bankruptcy law firm to help determine whether to proceed with the largest Chapter 9 filing ever in the United States.

The Florida Supreme Court last week upheld a $28.3 million judgment against the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.. The award goes to the relatives of a Pensacola man who died 16 years ago.

SAN FRANCISCO - The California Treasurer's Office has admitted law firm Polsinelli Shughart PC into the state's bond counsel pool.

WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined SunTrust Robinson Humphrey Inc. and SunTrust Investment Services Inc. a total of $5 million for disclosure and other failures related to underwriting and selling auction-rate securities.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court last week overturned an appeals court ruling and upheld the tax-exempt status of an outpatient facility operated by nonprofit Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare.

SAN FRANCISCO - The city of Vallejo, Calif., could see its plan to exit bankruptcy sail through a final hearing Thursday with only one objection from two individuals.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Commissioners in Jefferson County, Ala., will again meet in a special closed-door session this week in Birmingham to discuss a wide range of issues, including the possibility of filing for municipal bankruptcy.

BRADENTON, Fla. - Commissioners in Jefferson County, Ala., hired the California law firm Klee, Tuchin, Bogdanoff & Stern LLP as a consultant on strategies to resolve the county's financial crises.

One city is a capital in a large state often considered a battleground in presidential elections. The other occupies a blighted square mile in the nation's smallest state.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley will hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. on Aug. 9 at Quincy High School on the proposed $38 million sale of Quincy Medical Center Inc. to Steward Health Care System LLC.

BRADENTON, Fla. - The trustee for Lambuth University on Wednesday notified the bond market that the Jackson, Tenn.-based school filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy three weeks ago.

The Maine Turnpike Authority is suing former chief executive Paul Violette, demanding he repay $524,000 it alleges he cost the agency between 2003 and 2011.

A California appellate court will hear a public employee union’s appeal next month after a court denied a lawsuit over the Presidio Parkway public-private partnership.

HARRISBURG, Pa. - The rejection by Harrisburg’s City Council of a financial recovery plan by a state-sponsored panel has Pennsylvania's capital city scrambling.

WASHINGTON - An investor holding bonds wrapped with insurance from ACA Financial Guaranty Corp. has filed a lawsuit against the moribund insurer, which says it is no longer obligated to pay insurance claims related to the bonds following the issuer’s Chapter 9 restructuring agreement.

WASHINGTON - A closely watched appeals court case that could determine whether investors may sue firms over allegedly faulty disclosure for auction-rate securities has pitted the Securities and Exchange Commission against a broker-dealer group.

BRADENTON, Fla. - A new Florida agency created to fund statewide Property Assessed Clean Energy improvements filed a complaint to validate the issuance of up to $2 billion of municipal bonds.

Jefferson County, Ala., filed a brief notice with the bond market on Tuesday stating that it once again defaulted on its sewer warrants. The county said warrants were purchased by banks that entered into standby warrant purchase agreements.

The state-appointed receiver overseeing Central Falls, R.I., asked retired police officers and firefighters on Tuesday for $2.5 million in permanent pension and health-benefit concessions for the city to avoid bankruptcy.